The Yankees were able to split the series in a finale that was expected to be a pitching duel between Gerrit Cole and Pablo Lopez.
But Cole (4-0) threw a complete game and outshined his counterpart, allowing just two hits, a walk and no runs in the Yankees’ 2-0 victory against the Twins. He didn’t allow a hit through 4.1 innings and struck out 10 batters, his 23rd double digit strikeout game as a Yankee, tying him with Ron Guidry for the franchise record.
It was the second-straight game the Twins’ bats were mostly neutralized to end the first season series between the two teams, a stark difference compared to the 20 combined hits in the first two games. The Twins had five hits Saturday and were held to just two on Sunday.
The Yankees got traffic in the third inning after a one-out walk to Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo reached after Lopez hit the first baseman in the foot.
The HBP is Rizzo’s 204th of his career, tying him with ex-Phillies infielder Chase Utley for 204th all-time.
Gleyber Torres struck out afterwards. DJ LeMehieu’s RBI single on a hit-and-run scored Judge as the Yankees struck first. The inning ended after Willie Calhoun, who got the start at DH, flew out to center.
LeMehieu dealt most of the damage to Lopez on Sunday.
The infielder homered to right, a 340-foot flyball that extended the lead to 2-0. He finished the day 2-for-4 with two RBI and a strikeout. Sunday was his first multi-RBI game of the season.
The Twins got their first hit in the fifth inning, a single to left by Donovan Solano on a 2-2 count. The inning ended afterwards with a Max Kapler groundout to the pitcher.
With Stanton’s hot bat out of the order due to a hamstring injury, the Yankees started Aaron Hicks in left, Judge in center and Oswaldo Cabrera in right. The trio combined for 0-for-9 at the plate, including three strikeouts for Hicks. The struggling veteran heard boos after each strikeout. He dropped his helmet and bat in frustration after the third strikeout, which continues his poor start to the season.
The 11-year veteran’s average is down to .136 with just three hits in 20 plate appearances.
Anthony Volpe went 1-for-4 and stole a base. The rookie is now 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts on the season.
The Yankees (10-6) hope to continue their win streak when Shoehi Ohtani, Mike Trout and the Angels (7-7) come into New York for a three-game series starting on Tuesday. The Angels will enter the Bronx on a three-game losing streak.
Aaron Boone expects Clarke Schmidt to start the series on Tuesday, followed by Jhony Brito and Nestor Cortes.